Stuff a holiday pepper

Mix venison, feral pork sausage with jalapenos

This is one of my favorite recipes. It is very simple and contains two of my favorite foods: spicy game sausage and jalapeno peppers. It’s pretty healthy, too, as the primary ingredient is lean game.

When I make stuffed jalapenos at home, I get to eat them for a while, as Donna may have a little spicy sausage from time to time, but she draws the line at peppers — of any kind. The key ingredient is the spicy sausage; the jalapenos are simply a nice way to package it for serving. I find the sausage flavors the jalapenos more than the jalapenos flavor the sausage.

Most people will appreciate this best when served as a snack or appetizer. There are only a few of us with palates bold enough to eat a couple of large, stuffed jalapenos as a meal. You cook the jalapenos whole, so you can slice them as needed, and I always manage to put a couple or three aside for a lunch a few days later. They re-heat well.

The Chipotle Ranch Dressing is another key to get people to try stuffed jalapenos. I believe they associate it with the blue cheese or ranch dressing served with spicy chicken wings, and this somehow makes it all right to try. The Chipotle Ranch Dressing has a smoky and creamy edge that compliments the sausage and jalapeno.

Presentation means a lot with this, and arranging slices on a plate with a bowl of Chipotle Ranch Dressing is a good way to begin. If you make it look good enough, sometimes the timid will give it a try. Be careful though; many of them will like it, and it often disappears quickly.

Plenty of options

You can use the oven for the final cooking and prepare this inside, but when the weather allows, I prefer to prepare it outside on the grill. This adds a little smoky flavor to the jalapenos, and it is a really nice addition. Besides, any time you can be outside and prepare food on the grill is special.

For those who might like to try this but don’t care for jalapenos, it’s also pretty good using smaller bell peppers. When I prepare it without jalapenos, I like to use smaller yellow, red and orange bell peppers. The smaller ones are more tender, and the colors brighten up the plate.

It can also be made without the spicy sausage, but to me that is a form of blasphemy. Those with palates that require the mildness can prepare it using ground venison or ground feral pork. They are both lean and good and I like them both, but for this recipe they are extremely bland to me.

If you give this an honest try, I believe you’ll like it. Many of my friends now request I bring stuffed jalapenos when they invite me to parties, picnics, cookouts and other things that include food.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound spicy venison or feral pig sausage
• 13 large jalapenos
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup chopped onions
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• Buttery Pam spray
• Chipotle Ranch dressing

PREPARATION:

Wash peppers, then cut off the tops, remove all seeds and place in a bowl. Cover with hot water — scalding, but not boiling — for an hour.

Brown sausage in a frying pan, remove and allow to cool some. Beat 1 egg, mix sausage, cheese, beaten egg and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.

Stuff jalapenos with sausage, cheese, and bread crumb mixture. An egg carton is a great place to hold the jalapenos during preparation. Cover a baking pan in aluminum foil and make several taller ridges in the foil so the jalapenos can be placed to angle the open end up. There are jalapeno racks made for grills, but I haven’t tried using one in the oven.

Beat the other egg. Dip and roll each stuffed jalapeno in the beaten egg, then the remaining bread crumbs and place in baking pan with the open end angled up. Spray the stuffed jalapenos with buttery Pam. Sprinkle the stuffed jalapenos lightly with more bread crumbs. Cook at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until the bread crumbs are brown.

Stuffed jalapenos can be served whole for the main course of a meal or cut into 1/2-inch thick slices and served as appetizers, snacks and party treats. More people are willing to try them as slices. Serve with Chipotle Ranch Dressing as a dipping sauce. I will serve stuffed jalapenos as an appetizer or snack, so no side dishes are needed. I occasionally serve it as a meal and include the traditional sides of rice and refried beans.